Napping machine



May 10, 1955 w. N. HADLEY NAPPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 19, 1954.

May 10, 1955 w. N. HADLEY 2,707,315

NAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 illlllml IN VEN TOR.

United. tes Patent 2,707,815 NAPPING MACHINE Wilfred N. Hadley, Springfield, Vt., assignor to Parks & woolsoa Machine Co., Springfield, Vt., a corporation of Vermont Application Januar 19, 1954, Serial No. 404,984

Claims. on. 26-29) This invention relates to textile machinery employed to raise nap on woven, knitted and felt fabric and particularly to an improvement on the machine shown in my Patent No. 2,472,584 dated June 7, 1949.

The yarn or thread operated on by a loom is ordinarily relatively tightly twisted and smooth surfaced so that the woven fabric leaving the loom does not exhibit the soft and pleasing surface effect which has come to be a prized characteristic of fine fabrics. In order to obtain a suitable finish it has been customary to pass the cloth through a napping machine in which resilient barbs are caused to pick across the surface of the cloth to lift fibers from the yarn and draw them uniformly in the same direction in order to produce a nap of proper appearance and quality. For this purpose the industry has employed wire nappers and teasel gigs. In both of these machines the cloth is rovenover rolls associated with a drum and arranged to form a path for the cloth which is tangent to the drum at one or more points. Mounted on the drum is a multiplicity of rows of wire fingers or teasels, the teasel being a vegetable burr having a long resilient hooked thorn or bristle peculiarly adapted for forming a nap. The drum carrying the napping instrumentalities is ordinarily a massive structure made to revolve at high speed, while the cloth is fed along its path either in the same or opposite direction as the direction of rotation of the drum. 7

It is important that the drum shall be rotating at full speed and that the cloth shall be in feeding motion when the cloth is brought into engagement with the drum, since otherwise an inferior product will result. It is also important, when stopping the machine, that the cloth shall be disengaged from the drum prior to the stopping of the drum and cloth feed; The dru'rn rotation is preferably controlled independently and is brought" up to speed before thecloth feeding is started and the drum'is kept in full operation while the cloth is in engagement 7 therewith.

In accordance'with my invention the cloth feeding and positioning mechanism are under the control of manually operated means so disposed that the cloth cannot be started into engagement with the druiri until starting of the cloth feed has been effected and, while this control may embody two manually operated elements for effe'cting such functions, it preferably embodies means for automatically starting the cloth positioning operation within a predetermined time period following the starting of the cloth feed. The production of novel mechanism for thus controlling the cloth feed and positioning operations comprises the primary object of the invent'ion.

These and other objects and features of my invention will be more readily understood aridappie'c'iat'ed from the following" detailed description of preferred embodi nients thereof selected for purposes of illustration arid s'hoyvnin the accompanying drawings, in which:

'Fig; l is a view in side el'evation of a't wo-dr'um teasel 2 gig equipped with the cloth control mechanism of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the control mechanism,

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of one end of the control mechanism,

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of the control mechanism,

Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram showing one form of circuit employed to operate the control mechanism, and

Fig. 6 is a modified form of the circuit employed.

Itmust be emphasized that my invention is applicable to many types of napping machines; therefore the machine shown in Fig. 1 appears only in suificient detail to make possible a clear understanding of the construction and functions of my novel control mechanism. As shown in Fig. 1, and to some extent in Fig. 2, the teasel gig is organized about a pair of substantially identical heavy metal side frames 10 suitably tied together and braced to support'the heavy drums employed. A pair of opposed brackets 12 extend upwardly from the center portions of both side frames 10 between a pair of main shafts 14 and 16 upon which are mounted the large hollow drums 18 and 20. As shown diagrammatically at 19, the drums 18 and 20 are each provided with a great many rows of teasels so secured on the surface of the drums that their fingers project radially from the circumferences of the drums. The drums are shown only diagrammatically inasniuch as my invention is not directed to any of the features of the drums or drum driving mechanisms. The shaft 14 carries at one end a' large pulley 22 over which is roven a V-belt 26 which also passes over a pulley secured to the shaft of a motor 30. Similarly the shaft 16 carries a pulley 24 driven by a belt 28 which passes around the pulley of a moto'r 32. The motors 30 and 32 are preferably coupled to the same control circuit and are employed to turn the drums at high speed. Within the frames 10 a pair of spoked wheels 34 and 35 are mounted on the shaft 14 for free rotation thereon while a similar pair of wheels 36 and 37 are mounted for free rotation on the shaft 16. The wheels 3437 are approximately the same in diameter as the drums 18 and 20 but the wheels and drums are free" to rotate independently of each other on the shafts 14 and 16. v M

I shall now briefly describe the elements cooperating to form the path of the cloth and feed it through the teasel gig. The cloth to be treated is shown in Fig. l at 44 and its path will be clear from an inspection of the direction indicating arrows. The cloth enters the machine over an idler roll 40 suspended between a pair of beams 38 secured to the frames 10 at one end of the machine. The roll 40 spans the full width of the machine as do the other rolls now to be described. From the roll 40' the cloth 4'4 travels downwardly and around a fixed idler roll 42 disposed at the front end ofthe machine adjacent the surface of the drum 18. Then the cloth passes upwardly and over an idler roll 46 journalled in brackets secured to the Wheels 34 and 35. From there the cloth travels upwardly and'over a roll 48 journalled for rotation in a pair of frame extensions 50 extending upwardly from each of the side frames 10. The cloth next leads over a roll 52 mounted on the'wheels 34 and 35; over a roll 54 journalled in the brackets 12; over a roll 56 journalled on the wheels 34 and 35;- over a roll 58' secured to the frame 10; over a roll 60 journalled in the Wheels 34 and 35'; over a roll 62 mounted on the frame 10; over a roll- 64 mounted on the wheels 34" and 35 and then over a motor-driven'roll 66 mounted onthe front end of a machine on the side frames 10. Mounted above the motor driven feed roll 66 is a brush roll 68 carried ona swinging bracket 70 and adapted to clean the napping fingers when swung into the position shown in Fig. 1.

From the roll 66 the cloth 44 is led along the bottom of the machine over three rolls 72, 74 and 76 mounted in the frames 10. Then the cloth travels upwardly to a roll 78 mounted at the rear end of the machine adjacent the drum 20. It then passes over a roll 80 mounted on the wheels 36 and 37; over a roll 82 mounted on the frames 10; over a roll 84 mounted on the wheels 36 and 37; over a roll 86 mounted on the frames 10; over a roll 88 mounted on the wheels 36 and 37; over a roll 90 mounted on the bracket 12, over a roll 92 mounted on the wheels 36 and 37; over a roll 94 mounted on the frame extension 95; over a roller 96 mounted on the wheels 36 and 37. The cloth then leads over a motordriven roll 98 mounted on the rear ends of the frames 10. Finally the cloth passes over a roll 99 journalled in a pair of frame extensions 100 also secured to the rear ends of the frame 10. The cloth is fed or driven by motors 65 (one shown in Fig. 5) which drive the rolls 66 and 98. The drive for the cloth is independent from the drive for the drums 18 and 20.

As shown in Fig. 2 there is mounted on the wheel 34 an arcuate rack or gear segment 102 while a similar rack 103 is secured to the surface of the wheel 35. In like manner racks 104 and 105 are secured to the wheels 36 and 37. A pair of pinions 106 and 108 mesh respectively with the racks 102 and 103 and are fixed on a transverse shaft 110 journalled in the brackets 12. Similarly a pair of pinions 112 and 114 mesh respectively with the racks 104 and 105 and are carried on a second transverse shaft 116 also journalled in the brackets 12. Thus both shafts 110 and 116 are disposed in the center of the machine between the two drums 18 and 20. At the back of the machine (as viewed in Fig. l) the shafts 110 and 116 are mechanically connected through a pair of meshing gears 128 and 130. At the front end of the machine the shaft 110 carries a sprocket 118 receiving a chain 120 which passes over a second sprocket secured to a stub shaft 123 journalled for rotation in one of the frames 10 and provided with a large pulley 122 receiving a V-belt 124 driven from the pulley of a motor 126 secured to the base of the machine. It will be evident that when the motor 126 is operated, the shafts 110 and 116 will be driven in opposite directions and thereby rotate the wheels 34-37.

Inspection of Fig. 1 will show that each roll atfixed to the wheels 34 and 35 spans the machine and is located between a pair of rolls mounted for rotation in fixed posi- 5 tion. For example, the roll 52 at the top of the wheel 34 as shown in Fig. 1 is disposed between the fixed roll 48 and the fixed roll 54. When the roll 52 is in the full line position the cloth 44 touches the surface of the drum 18 between the roll 52 and the roll 54, that is to say, the path of the cloth is tangent to the drum between the two rolls. When the wheels 34 and 35 are rotated counterclockwise the roll 52 is moved to the left to the dotted line position where it will be evident that the cloth 44 has been lifted from engagement with the surface of the drum and that the cloth part is no longer tangent to the drum. Further inspection will show that in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings the normal cloth path is tangent to each of the drums at five points. The disposition of the rolls is such that the cloth path may not only be lifted from the drums so that the cloth does not come in contact with the napping instrumentalities, but it is also possible to vary the nap by moving the wheels. That is to say the cloth path may be arranged so that at the ten contact points the napping fingers barely reach the surface of the cloth and the picking action comprises a relatively light surface brushing. However, if the wheels 34 and 35 are moved more in a clockwise direction, the cloth will bear more heavily at the tangent points so that the picking action of the teasel is deeper and more penetrating. Consequently the extent of the nap may easily be controlled by positioning the wheels.

It is to be understood that the operation of the rolls connected with the wheels 34 and 35 is identical with that of the rolls associated with the wheels 36 and 37.

In order to effect facile control of the wheels and their associated rolls I provide a special control mechanism now to be described. Mounted on the shaft 110 outside the sprocket 118 is a hub 132 carrying an angle cam arm 134. The hub 132 is keyed to the shaft 110 and rotates with it. Mounted on the extreme end of the shaft 110 is a toothed wheel 136 to which is secured a bar 138 held to the wheel 136 by a bolt 140. At its other end the bar 138 terminates in a sleeve through which passes the shaft 116, which is free to turn within the sleeve 142; the bar and toothed wheel 136 are thereby mounted in fixed position and locked against rotation. A cap 144 is secured to the outer end of the shaft 116 to retain the sleeve 142 in proper position.

A microswitch 146 is secured to the bracket 12 above the hub 132 and is controlled by a downwardly extending spring-loaded plunger 148 disposed in the path of the cam arm 134. Between the hub 132 and the wheel 136 there is disposed a hub 150 loose on the shaft 110 and provided with a radially extending arm 152 in which is mounted a second microswitch 154 controlled by a downwardly extending spring-loaded plunger 156 arranged also to lie in the path of the cam arm 134. On the front of the arm 152 is secured a housing 159 receiving a spring-loaded plunger 158 arranged at its lower end to engage the teeth on the wheel 136 and provided with a knob 160 by means of which the plunger 158 may be retracted to free it from engagement with the teeth on the wheel 136. For convenience the face of the wheel 136 carries a series of symbols or numbers serving to indicate the position of the cloth 44 relative to the points of tangency on the surfaces of the drums 18 and 20. For convenience I prefer to designate as the zero point the vertical position shown in Fig. 4 wherein the cam arm 134 engages and depresses the plunger 148 of the microswitch 146. The microswitch 154 with its plunger 156 may be set at any desired angular position about the wheel 136 and in the arrangement shown, the farther the arm 152 is rotated in counterclockwise direction, the greater is the pressure or extent of contact between the cloth and the teasels when the cloth is lowered into operating position.

I contemplate that the teasel gig will be started while the cloth is out of contact with the drums. When the drums have attained full operating speed, the cloth feed motors will be started and my control mechanism actuated to lower the cloth so that it will bear upon the teasels at the ten tangency points with the desired amount of pressure. At the end of the operation I contemplate first lifting the cloth from operative position on the 1 drums and thereafter stopping the cloth feed, following which the drum rotation is stopped. An appreciation of the manner in which this is accomplished will be understood by reference to Figs. 5 and 6 which show the circuits employed in conjunction with the mechanical structure heretofore explained.

The cloth positioning control motor 126 is a threephase motor served by power supply lines 200, 202 and 204. A manually controlled gang switch 206 is inserted across all three lines. The control elements for the circuit are associated with the lines 202 and 204 and are shown schematically.

The cloth feeding motors 65 are under the control of a normally open solenoid operated switch 310 in a supply line 311 to the motors. A solenoid operating circuit 312 is energized through a transformer 314 from leads 315 to the main line 311. The switch 310 is under the control of a solenoid 316 in a. circuit 317 together with a normally open starting switch 318 and a normally closed switch 320. Closing of the switch 318 energizes the solenoid which thereupon closes the motor switch 310. A contact bar 322 connected with the switch 310 and to are/as the switch gap 318. Thus, closing of the switch 318 starts the cloth feedingrnotors. g p

A second solenoid 324 iii thefc'irjcluit" is under the control of a normally open switch325'. The core of the solenoid is connected by a rod 327 tothree switch: contact bars 326, 220 and 226, all normally in the position indicated in Fig. 5. Closing of the switch 325 energizes the solenoid and lifts the core and switch bar connecting rod 327 to the upper position wherein the bar 326 maintains the switch gap 325 closed. The contact bar 220 is associated with two pairs of contacts 222 and 224 and the contact bar 226 likewise serves two pairs of contacts 228 and 230. When the elements are in the position shown in Fig. the supply line 202 is connected to the terminal 234 and the supply line 204 is connected to the terminal 232. When the rod 327 is moved upwardly the connections are reversed, thus reversing the direction of rotation of the motor 126. The microswitch 146 has two pairs of contacts 145 and 147 operated simultaneously. Similarly the microswitch 154 is provided with two pairs of contacts 153 and 155.

Assuming that the switch 206 is closed, upward move ment of the rod 327 moves the bars 220 and 226 to close the contacts 222 and 230 and drive the cloth positioning control motor so that the shaft 110 turns in the clockwise direction and the wheels 34-37 are rotated to permit the cloth to come into contact with the surface of the drums. When the motor 126 starts, the cam arm 134 leaves the microswitch 146 which then closes; that is to say, the contacts 145 and 147 are bridged. The motor 126 continues to turn until the cam arm 134 intercepts and moves the plunger 156 on the microswitch 154, opening the microswitch and cutting olf the current from the motor 126. Inasmuch as the microswitch 146 is at this time closed, the circuit is in condition for reverse movement. That is to say, the switch 320 may be opened whereupon the elements return to the position shown in Fig. 5. The wheels 3437 are thereupon caused to turn and lift the cloth out of contact with the drums and the cam arm 134 leaves the microswitch 154 and the drive continues until the cam arm 134 returns to the microswitch 146 and opens it again shutting off the supply of current to the cloth control motor. The switch 206 may be opened to permit independent operation of the cloth feed motors. The reverse is not true; that is to say, the cloth applying and lifting functions cannot be carried out independently of the cloth feed.

When starting the machine the drum rotating motors 30 and 32 are first started and brought up to full speed before starting the cloth feed. Closing of the starting switch 318 then starts the cloth feed motors. The cloth positioning control motor 126 to bring the cloth into contact with the drums can then be started by closing the switch 325. As will be apparent, the circuit through the starting switches 318 and 325 prevents the starting of the cloth positioning motor until after the switch 318 has been closed and the cloth feed started. Opening of the switch 320 is adapted to deenergize both solenoids 316 and 324 whereupon the parts return to the position shown in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated a modified control embodying a single starting switch for the cloth feed motors together with mechanism for automatically starting the cloth positioning motor within a predetermined period of time following the starting of the cloth feeding motors. This mechanism will now be described. The parts corresponding to those shown in Fig. 5 are indicated by like refer ence characters primed.

The cloth feeding motors 65 are under the control of a normally open solenoid operated switch 310 in a supply line 311' to the motors. A solenoid operating circuit 330 is energized through a transformer 314'. The switch 310' is under the control of a solenoid 332 in the circuit 330 which also includes a normally open starting switch 334 and a normallyclosed switch 336. Also bridging the .circuit gap at switch 334 is a normally open switch 338 and cooperating with this switch is an electromagnet 340 connected by leads 342 to the circuit 330. When the switch 334 is closed the magnet 340 is energized and holds the switch 338 in closed position.

The solenoid core 344 carries a rod 346 extending upwardly to a position beneath and spaced from the switch bar 226 connected at 348 to the switch bar 220'. Disposed on and about the rod is a compression spring 350 resting on a stop 352 fixed to the rod. The contact bar 310 is mounted free on the rod together with a bushing 354. The bushing and bar are disposed between the top end of the spring and a second stop 356 on the rod and are normally in the open switch position illustrated in Fig. 6. A rod 358 extends downwardly from the core 344 and carries a piston 360 operating within a dash pot 362.

When it is desired to start the operation of the machine the drums 18 and 20 are first brought up to speed. The operator then closes the switch 334 which thereupon energizes the solenoid 332 and electromagnet 340. The electromagnet then holds the switch 338 in closed position. The solenoid lifts the core and connected rods which immediately closes the switch 310, thus starting the cloth feeding motors. Upward movement of the rod compresses the spring 350, after the switch bar 310' engages its contacts, and this movement is delayed a predetermined period by the dash pot at 362. At the end of its upward movement the rod 346 engages the contact bar 226' and raises the unit 348 to 'close the upper contacts 222' and 230' and start the positioning movement of the cloth to the drums. The functioning of the motor 126 thereupon is the same as already above described. When the machine is to be stopped, the switch 336 is opened whereupon the solenoid 332 is deenergized and the parts return to the position shown in Fig. 6. It is noted that in this movement the dash pot at 362 delays the opening of the cloth feed motors switch 310 after the reversing movement of the cloth positioning switch unit at 348, thus maintaining the cloth feed in operation until the cloth is disengaged from the drums.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cloth napping machine, a cloth napping drum, power operated means for rotating the drum, means for supporting an open strip of cloth circumferentially about the drum, power operated means for feeding the cloth, power operated means for moving the cloth into and out of tangential engagement with the drum, means under manual control for starting the feeding of the cloth, means for starting the movement of the cloth into engagement with the drum, means for preventing the last named starting until the first named starting has been effected, and means for stopping said movement of the cloth at a predetermined degree of contact with the drum.

2. The machine defined in claim 1 in which the means for starting said feeding of the cloth and said movement of the cloth into and out of engagement with the drum embodies two manually operated elements for effecting these functions.

3. The machine defined in claim 1 plus unitary means under manual control for starting disengagement of the cloth from the drum and within a predetermined time period thereafter automatically cutting off the cloth feeding power.

4. In a cloth napping machine, a cloth napping drum, power operated means for rotating the drum, means for supporting an open strip of cloth circumferentially about the drum, power operated means for feeding the cloth, power operated means for moving the cloth into and out of tangential engagement with the drum, means under manual control for starting the feeding of the cloth and for starting the movement of the cloth into said engagement with the drum, means for automatically delaying the last named starting for a predetermined period after the first named starting, and means for stopping said movement of the cloth at a predetermined degree of contact with the drum.

5. The machine defined in claim 4 plus unitary means under manual control for starting disengagement of the cloth from the drum and within a predetermined time period thereafter automatically cutting offthe cloth feeding power.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

